The Arizona Articulation and Phonology Scale, Fourth Edition measures speech intelligibility, articulatory impairment, and phonological impairment in one quick, easy-to-use assessment. The fourth revision of this widely used assessment retains the strengths of its predecessors and adds features that enhance its effectiveness in identifying individuals who have speech sound disorders. New norms, refined measurement properties, and the addition of connected-speech and phonology tests help clinicians identify individuals who may benefit from speech sound services. Supplemental qualitative tasks facilitate deeper interpretation of the scores and help clinicians develop treatment plans targeted to the individual’s needs.

What’s new in the Arizona-4?

Three tests in one assessment: Word Articulation, Sentence Articulation, and Phonology

All-new normative data

Extension of the standardized age range to 21 years, 11 months, with guidance for describing and understanding the speech of adults of all ages

Modified scoring system for more effective identification of individuals with speech sound disorders

Speech and language professionals can use Arizona-4 in a variety of settings, including schools, clinics, hospitals, private practices, and intervention programs. Its applications include:

Understanding and describing an individual’s level of articulatory ability and overall speech intelligibility in both single-word and connected speech

Comparing single-word and connected-speech articulatory abilities

Determining the extent to which phonological impairment may contribute to an individual’s articulatory deficits, and describing the specific types of phonological error patterns displayed

Facilitating early identification of speech-sound development concerns and determining whether an individual may benefit from treatment services

Identifying and prioritizing speech targets for individualized intervention through analysis of the examinee’s specific articulatory/phonological deficits and relative strengths, including the production of consonants, consonant blends, vowels, and vocalic /r/

Monitoring improvement in an individual’s speech sound production over time

Evaluating the degree of consistency in an individual’s production of misarticulated sounds, the impact of speech sound deficits in continuous language and everyday speech, and the need for further language assessment or intervention

What It Measures

The Arizona-4 scores help clinicians identify individuals who are in need of speech sound services and develop treatment plans for them. The primary score is the easy-to-understand Word or Sentence Articulation Total Score, which has a direct and useful interpretation. Because research links the Total Scores to the actual rate of speech sound occurrence in American speech, they express a real sense of how often misarticulated sounds are likely to occur in the examinee’s everyday speech and what impact those misarticulations are likely to have on overall speech intelligibility. The Word–Sentence Articulation Critical Difference Score reveals the differences between the client’s articulation in single-word versus connected-speech contexts.

In addition, standard scores provided for Word Articulation, Sentence Articulation, and Phonology allow comparison of the examinee’s performance to that of a typically developing peer group based on age (and gender, at the younger ages). Severity ranges, confidence intervals, percentile ranks, and test-age equivalent scores further aid clinical interpretation. The Arizona-4 scores include descriptive language easily understood by parents and other nonprofessionals.

Expanded guidelines for interpretation cover topics such as extreme scores, item-level analysis, percentage of occurrence of phonological error patterns, and use of the Arizona-4 to measure change over time. Additional qualitative information is available through a variety of supplemental, non-standardized tasks that help you plan effective treatment for the individual.

Standard Scores and associated Severity Ranges for level of articulatory and phonological impairment

Word–Sentence Articulation Critical Difference Score

Percentage of Occurrence for phonological error patterns

Percentage of Speech Improvement score for retesting

How It Works

Administer the Word Articulation and Sentence Articulation tests of the Arizona-4 to the examinee and singly or in combination as needed. The clinician codes the Phonology test based on the examinee’s speech productions during Word Articulation.

Administer the Word Articulation portion using the Test Easel or the Digital Stimulus Images with the Administration Guide. You present the stimulus content to the examinee and the examinee names the depicted word or repeats it after you; older examinees may read the words. You record the examinee’s production of the target sounds in the Word and Sentence Articulation Record Form, and you may choose to code these productions for 11 phonology error patterns on the Phonology Coding Form.

Assess target sounds in the Word Articulation portion at the sentence level by administering Sentence Articulation using the Test Easel or the Digital Stimulus Images with Administration Guide. In Sentence Articulation, the examiner presents single words, embedded in brief, simple sentences (first-grade level) from Word Articulation. The examinee can read the sentences or repeat after you). The examiner can draw direct comparisons between the examinee’s productions of the Arizona-4 target sounds at the word and sentence levels.

After administering the relevant articulation tests and completing the coding for the phonology portion as needed, you can score the test manually or use the free WPS Online Evaluation System online scoring and report generation.

FREE Online Scoring and Reporting

Upon purchase of an Arizona-4 Kit or Forms, you gain access to digital scoring through the WPS Online Evaluation System at no additional charge! This gives you the option to score online and automatically generate the Score Report including Item Discrepancy Analysis. Time-saving and HIPAA compliant, WPS’s online testing platform lets you securely and conveniently keep a record of your administrations and share helpful information with parents, teachers, and others involved in treatment.